Chronic: Battier's biggest play is dunking doubters

Ok, I like Shane Battier and I've gradually warmed up to the trade, but somebody seriously needs to ask Feigan how Les Alexanders balls taste.

 

The problem is not Battier in himself, as he will be an asset to the team. The Problem lies in the level of CD and JVG,s thinking as to the needs of the team to make it into a championship contender. They don't realize that we are three significant players away from a championship and I don't mean fillers like JL111,
Frahm or HAYES. the Rockets present position is that they have two good players [ Yao and Mc G] two decent players [ Battier and Alston], a potential shooter [Novac] and fillers. This is a long way from seeing us in a WC final. We might not even be in the playoffs. I want to hear CD trying for Bonzi Wells or Jackson from the Pacers inorder to kick start the rebuilding of our WIN NOW TEAM Also the fans facination with Bob Sura needs to die as he is hardly ever going to be a significant part of the Rockets team.

 

Do you realize what our winning percentage was with Yao, McGrady, and Wesley and Rafer all healthy??

I'll gladly take a 6'9" Wesley that shoots a higher percentage from the field and from 3 point land and gives us an extra 3 boards a game.

 

Shane is better than David Wesley, and any other swingman (not named T-Mac) we have had for the last 2 seasons. He is a solid defender WITH HEIGHT and he can shoot.

From our 51 win season:

Jim Jackson 42%, 37% three
Mike James 44%, 36% three
David Wesley 40%, 39% three
Bob Sura 43%, 37% three
Jon Barry 45%, 46% three
Scott Padgett 41%, 40% three

When our role players hit shots, we usually won. We lost when they didn't (see Game 7 vs Mavs). Outside of James no one could defend (Wesley was too short for SG's)

Battier 49%, 39% three (45% and 38% for his career)

Battier is everything we asked for in a role-playing swingman. Yeah, we gave up too much but he is solid.

 

If i had to choose between Mike James and Shane, I choose the Shane Deal within a heartbeat

 

I am still in a serious funk about this trade. I can't imaginge that the Rockets truly think they have the resources available to "win now". Next year would seem much more realistic, at which time I think Gay could be a real contributor and bring more to the table than Battier is capable of. HOWEVER, I do agree that Battier will be a quality addition to this team, and I think that focusing on the 10/5 numbers gives a false view of what he brings. Looking at the efficiency numbers that Icehouse posted gives a much clearer indication of what we can expect.

Still bummed about the trade, though.

 

feigan's out of control now. first of all, no one even doubts what shane can do. the problem is we know what he can do. he's arguing with himself.

 

In the month of November we were 4-11, not the best start we could have

 

And what does that mean? FYI....there are more than 2 stats in the NBA....we got him bc he is an ALL-AROUND player....Dont even compare Swift to Battier....the two are not even close ....and for the guy thats comparing him to Wesley....Wesley is a midget that gets lit up night in and night out so please done compare the two either.....its obvious that some people on here dont watch anything other than rockets games so just wait until the season starts and you will see

 

Tracy got hurt before the 2nd game man....

 

Dirk shot a higher percentage from the field against the Spurs than the Grizzlies. Does that mean Bruce Bowen is a terrible defender?

 

wow nice spin. dirk shot 50% against memphis and scored 31 a game. who cares what he did against san antonio

 

More critical, hard-hitting reportage from Houston's Leading Information News Source.

Wow, Udon nearly came out of my nose when I read that.

Who the hell is asking those kinds of cotton candy questions at press conferences? Clutch the Bear? Missing Link to a championship? Christ almighty, we were about 10 links short of the playoffs last year.

Championship? Queue up the Jim Mora Playoffs speech.

 

C'mon,it's not about stats guys,it's all about W's.
Battier will conduct shooting drills on a regular basis with the Rockets as he's never had one much less two players that draw so much attention(and are great passers).This provides a mutually symbiotic realationship where not only is he knocking down J's,but Shane will stretch the floor,giving Yao and TMac more room to do their thing.
Shane also provides versatility with his ability to guard some 2's,but mostly 3's,and 4's.
It doesn't matter what he averages per game.For the Rockets,it's about how many minutes he plays.And if history is an indicator,Battier should see 35 - 40/game because he's an ironman.
The term basketball IQ gets tossed around a lot..so does TEAM CONCEPT.Battier is the proverbial round peg,round hole....a great fit for any team,but perfect here.
It won't be long before the doubters see the light.

 

Dirk shot 52 percent from the field against the Spurs. It's incredibly relevant. Some offensive players are simply too good or too hot at a particular time to be contained in one-on-one situations, even by the most elite of defenders. If a guy such as Bowen, widely regarded as the best perimeter defender of our era, could not do any better against Dirk, how can you conclude that Battier is an overrated defender based on Dirk's performance against him?

 

its a straw man argument. dirk averaged 27 for the season against memphis if you need further proof. it was about his average, so its not that bad, but battier's defense doesn't seem what its cracked up to be.

 

Also, I bet it's difficult for Feigan to type with Les Alexander's bobblehead in his mouth. It's a mutli-tasking feat akin to Eddie Griffin masturbating to p*rn while driving drunk.

 

Swift would foul out if he played any more minutes. Battier does not commit as many because he's a better defender.

 

You still have answered my question. If you can conclude Battier's defense is overrated based on Dirk's performance against the Grizzlies, why can't we make conclusions about Bruce Bowen's defense based on Dirk's performance against the Spurs? You can't selectively apply the logic. For the record, Dirk averaged 25 for the season against San Antonio with a similer percentage from the field.

 

The Cat - enough with the reasonable and rational thinking! We don't want that around here! The mood is doom and gloom! Get with it! If you don't have anything negative to say, don't say anything at all!